Draft Western Sydney Regional Affordable Rental Housing Contribution Scheme


Wollondilly Shire Council recently invited feedback about the Draft Western Sydney Regional Affordable Rental Housing Contribution Scheme.

This regional scheme will levy monetary contributions as a condition of consent for certain development approvals, to help provide affordable rental housing for low and moderate income households in Western Sydney including Wollondilly Shire. It also includes a Distribution Plan outlining how the scheme will be managed long term by the not-for-profit community housing sector.

The proposed scheme was developed by the Western Sydney Planning Partnership working with the councils of Wollondilly, Camden, Blacktown, Hawkesbury, and Blue Mountains and with support from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPH&I).

The Scheme will start in 2028 and is expected to deliver about 3600 new affordable homes in the region over 10 years. It is anticipated that 450 would be located in Wollondilly.

A Regional Approach

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure requires local councils to prepare affordable rental housing schemes as part of the approval processes for their Local Housing Strategies.

The regional approach means this scheme is designed for the Western Sydney context with the advantage of reducing the time and cost for individual Councils to prepare and administer the schemes.

The Need

Affordable housing is critical infrastructure. It’s essential for social equity and sustainability, as well as supporting the economy of Western Sydney, which includes Wollondilly Shire.

Housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many households in the region, including low and moderate income essential worker households. In the past, Western Sydney was among the more affordable regions in Greater Sydney, however house and unit rental prices have risen sharply in recent years, widening the gap between the cost of housing, and what people can afford to pay. This has left many people, including full-time workers, struggling to meet their rental payments.

As one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and the location of Sydney’s new international airport, the current high demand for affordable housing will continue. Councils in Western Sydney are concerned about the impact this crisis is having on local communities. One way they can assist is to develop a scheme that enables the collection of monetary contributions from some new development, which will help pay for new affordable rental housing.

Overview of the Proposed Scheme

The draft Scheme proposes a low monetary contribution from some new development, to be introduced from March 2028 onwards. This lead-in time of three years is to ensure the draft Scheme does not impact the current supply of new housing. It also provides notice to the development industry and community, and allows time for developers to factor the contribution into future land purchases and development costing.

These modest contributions would be used to provide affordable rental housing, made available at rents that very low income, low income, and moderate income households can afford. The housing will be for local households including essential workers, families, seniors and others who are not able to afford the high price of private rentals.

When used alongside Commonwealth Government funding, the contributions will directly fund an estimated 3,600 permanent affordable rental housing dwellings for residents of the five Council areas over the first 10 years of the scheme.

The draft scheme is accompanied by a Distribution Plan. The draft Distribution Plan sets out details for how the contributions from the scheme would be used to commission and manage the affordable rental housing in the long-term.

Benefit for Local Renters

The draft scheme will help provide housing for a diverse range of people already living in the Council area, including essential workers, families, pensioners and others who are not able to afford the high price of private rentals. Once the scheme is in place from 2028 and construction of the housing begins, there will be an opportunity for local people who meet set criteria to apply.

Who Will Need to Contribute?

  • Developers and landowners will pay contributions when subdividing land for new dwellings, and for multi-unit dwellings, secondary dwellings and dual occupancies.
  • Large commercial, retail and industrial DAs will be required to make a small contribution.

Exempt: Businesses proposing developments under 1000 sqm will be exempt. This will help to ensure industry contributes to housing needs in the region, but with little to no impact on small business.

Exempt: The draft scheme is designed to have no impact on existing homeowners or new home buyers, as development applications (DAs) for new single dwelling houses and renovations (alterations and additions) are exempt from payment.

How Contributions Would be Levied

The draft Scheme would permit Council to levy a contribution for the purposes of affordable housing on certain types of new development approved after March 2028.

The draft scheme is proposed to apply to all land within the five Council areas and would be implemented via an amendment to the Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) of the five participating Councils and an amending State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP).

The proposed residential contribution is 1.5% of floor space and will apply to new residential subdivisions at the subdivision DA stage. It will also apply to some new residential development, including residential flat buildings and shop top housing, new attached dwellings (terrace houses), new secondary dwellings and dual occupancies. It will not apply to new single houses (defined as dwelling houses) on a single lot of land, to residential alterations and additions or to replacement development that doesn’t result in additional floorspace. It also will not apply to affordable, social or seniors housing.

The proposed non-residential contribution is a discounted rate of 0.3% of floor space and would apply to large (greater than 1000 sqm) non-residential development, including industrial, retail and commercial development. It will not apply to community facilities.

The contribution will be applied as a monetary contribution and as a condition of development consent before the issue of a construction certificate. It will be calculated by multiplying 1.5% (or 0.3% for non-residential development) of the proposed floor space area against a dollar rate per square metre.

The Process After Public Exhibition

After the public exhibition of the draft Scheme and Distribution Plan, the feedback received will be considered by the Councils and taken into consideration in finalising the Scheme and Distribution Plan. Each Council will then decide whether to endorse and implement the Scheme.

The final scheme will be enabled via an amendment to environmental planning instruments, including Council LEPs, and would only apply to development applications lodged on or after the commencement date in March 2028.

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure has agreed that following exhibition, and pending a decision by each Council to proceed, it will progress each LEP amendment through an amending State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP – subject to Ministerial approval) to reduce the administrative burden on councils of undertaking individual LEP amendment processes.

View the Documents

  • Online under the Documents for Exhibition link (scroll down if viewing this on a phone)
  • Council’s Customer Service Centre,62-64 Menangle Street, Picton
  • Wollondilly Library at Picton, 42 Menangle Street

Share Your Thoughts

  • Using the feedback form below
  • Email council@wollondilly.nsw.gov.au using reference number CM 13698-6
  • Mail to Wollondilly Shire Council, Chief Executive Officer, PO Box 21, Picton NSW 2571
  • Hand delivered to Council's Customer Service Centre, 62-64 Menangle Street, Picton

We are accepting submissions until 5.00pm on Monday, 7 April 2025.

A Note about Privacy

Any submission you make is open to public scrutiny. Council is required to release written comments or submissions under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 [GIPAA]. The Act imposes obligations on us to place submissions on Council’s website and submissions may be used in Council reports or court proceedings. In this regard, your comments should be restricted to the proposed scheme.


Wollondilly Shire Council recently invited feedback about the Draft Western Sydney Regional Affordable Rental Housing Contribution Scheme.

This regional scheme will levy monetary contributions as a condition of consent for certain development approvals, to help provide affordable rental housing for low and moderate income households in Western Sydney including Wollondilly Shire. It also includes a Distribution Plan outlining how the scheme will be managed long term by the not-for-profit community housing sector.

The proposed scheme was developed by the Western Sydney Planning Partnership working with the councils of Wollondilly, Camden, Blacktown, Hawkesbury, and Blue Mountains and with support from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPH&I).

The Scheme will start in 2028 and is expected to deliver about 3600 new affordable homes in the region over 10 years. It is anticipated that 450 would be located in Wollondilly.

A Regional Approach

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure requires local councils to prepare affordable rental housing schemes as part of the approval processes for their Local Housing Strategies.

The regional approach means this scheme is designed for the Western Sydney context with the advantage of reducing the time and cost for individual Councils to prepare and administer the schemes.

The Need

Affordable housing is critical infrastructure. It’s essential for social equity and sustainability, as well as supporting the economy of Western Sydney, which includes Wollondilly Shire.

Housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many households in the region, including low and moderate income essential worker households. In the past, Western Sydney was among the more affordable regions in Greater Sydney, however house and unit rental prices have risen sharply in recent years, widening the gap between the cost of housing, and what people can afford to pay. This has left many people, including full-time workers, struggling to meet their rental payments.

As one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and the location of Sydney’s new international airport, the current high demand for affordable housing will continue. Councils in Western Sydney are concerned about the impact this crisis is having on local communities. One way they can assist is to develop a scheme that enables the collection of monetary contributions from some new development, which will help pay for new affordable rental housing.

Overview of the Proposed Scheme

The draft Scheme proposes a low monetary contribution from some new development, to be introduced from March 2028 onwards. This lead-in time of three years is to ensure the draft Scheme does not impact the current supply of new housing. It also provides notice to the development industry and community, and allows time for developers to factor the contribution into future land purchases and development costing.

These modest contributions would be used to provide affordable rental housing, made available at rents that very low income, low income, and moderate income households can afford. The housing will be for local households including essential workers, families, seniors and others who are not able to afford the high price of private rentals.

When used alongside Commonwealth Government funding, the contributions will directly fund an estimated 3,600 permanent affordable rental housing dwellings for residents of the five Council areas over the first 10 years of the scheme.

The draft scheme is accompanied by a Distribution Plan. The draft Distribution Plan sets out details for how the contributions from the scheme would be used to commission and manage the affordable rental housing in the long-term.

Benefit for Local Renters

The draft scheme will help provide housing for a diverse range of people already living in the Council area, including essential workers, families, pensioners and others who are not able to afford the high price of private rentals. Once the scheme is in place from 2028 and construction of the housing begins, there will be an opportunity for local people who meet set criteria to apply.

Who Will Need to Contribute?

  • Developers and landowners will pay contributions when subdividing land for new dwellings, and for multi-unit dwellings, secondary dwellings and dual occupancies.
  • Large commercial, retail and industrial DAs will be required to make a small contribution.

Exempt: Businesses proposing developments under 1000 sqm will be exempt. This will help to ensure industry contributes to housing needs in the region, but with little to no impact on small business.

Exempt: The draft scheme is designed to have no impact on existing homeowners or new home buyers, as development applications (DAs) for new single dwelling houses and renovations (alterations and additions) are exempt from payment.

How Contributions Would be Levied

The draft Scheme would permit Council to levy a contribution for the purposes of affordable housing on certain types of new development approved after March 2028.

The draft scheme is proposed to apply to all land within the five Council areas and would be implemented via an amendment to the Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) of the five participating Councils and an amending State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP).

The proposed residential contribution is 1.5% of floor space and will apply to new residential subdivisions at the subdivision DA stage. It will also apply to some new residential development, including residential flat buildings and shop top housing, new attached dwellings (terrace houses), new secondary dwellings and dual occupancies. It will not apply to new single houses (defined as dwelling houses) on a single lot of land, to residential alterations and additions or to replacement development that doesn’t result in additional floorspace. It also will not apply to affordable, social or seniors housing.

The proposed non-residential contribution is a discounted rate of 0.3% of floor space and would apply to large (greater than 1000 sqm) non-residential development, including industrial, retail and commercial development. It will not apply to community facilities.

The contribution will be applied as a monetary contribution and as a condition of development consent before the issue of a construction certificate. It will be calculated by multiplying 1.5% (or 0.3% for non-residential development) of the proposed floor space area against a dollar rate per square metre.

The Process After Public Exhibition

After the public exhibition of the draft Scheme and Distribution Plan, the feedback received will be considered by the Councils and taken into consideration in finalising the Scheme and Distribution Plan. Each Council will then decide whether to endorse and implement the Scheme.

The final scheme will be enabled via an amendment to environmental planning instruments, including Council LEPs, and would only apply to development applications lodged on or after the commencement date in March 2028.

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing & Infrastructure has agreed that following exhibition, and pending a decision by each Council to proceed, it will progress each LEP amendment through an amending State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP – subject to Ministerial approval) to reduce the administrative burden on councils of undertaking individual LEP amendment processes.

View the Documents

  • Online under the Documents for Exhibition link (scroll down if viewing this on a phone)
  • Council’s Customer Service Centre,62-64 Menangle Street, Picton
  • Wollondilly Library at Picton, 42 Menangle Street

Share Your Thoughts

  • Using the feedback form below
  • Email council@wollondilly.nsw.gov.au using reference number CM 13698-6
  • Mail to Wollondilly Shire Council, Chief Executive Officer, PO Box 21, Picton NSW 2571
  • Hand delivered to Council's Customer Service Centre, 62-64 Menangle Street, Picton

We are accepting submissions until 5.00pm on Monday, 7 April 2025.

A Note about Privacy

Any submission you make is open to public scrutiny. Council is required to release written comments or submissions under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 [GIPAA]. The Act imposes obligations on us to place submissions on Council’s website and submissions may be used in Council reports or court proceedings. In this regard, your comments should be restricted to the proposed scheme.